Congrats you are pregnant! This is such an exciting time and for most women it’s also a very stressful time. Having a first trimester checklist will be so helpful for you to accomplish all of the things you need to do.
You have so much to prep for your baby especially if this is your first because you won’t have any of the baby stuff.
If you have never been through pregnancy this first trimester to do list will be so helpful for you!
When I had my first pregnancy I had no idea what to expect when it came to doctor appointments, eating, vitamins, pictures, and much more.
Some of these items I wish I would have done and some I’m very glad that I did.
First Trimester Checklist
Make Sure It’s a Positive
This is the first thing you need to do! You always want to double check if it’s positive especially if you get a faint positive. You can either retest in a week or in a couple days with a digital pregnancy test.
I’ve always liked the digital tests because they are so easy to read!
Also a little tip, you should test with your first pee in the morning. It has the highest concentration of HCG, which is the pregnancy hormone.
Prenatals
Start taking your Prenatal vitamins right away!
These are mainly for you because your baby will take all of the nutrients they need from you no matter what. And you need to replenish your nutrients.
Make sure your Prenatal vitamins have DHA and Folic acid. These are both important for the development of your baby.
If you are already feeling nauseous take them at night and with some food. It helps them go down easier.
Choose Your Doctor Well
This is one of the first things that you need to do.
You can do some research on Google about doctors near you. Trust me there will be a ton of reviews on hospitals and OBGYN doctors!
If you do have health insurance make sure that the doctor you are wanting to choose is in-network.
If you go to an out of network provider for your Prenatal care you will pay more to have that doctor.
Trust me prenatal expenses are pretty high so going to an in network provider will save you quite a bit!
First Appointment
Next you need to call and make your first appointment!
You will want to do this right after you choose your doctor because they can get pretty backed up.
They will usually schedule your first appointment 8-12 weeks from the first day of your last period.
Prepare for Your First Appointment
Your first appointment is usually more complex than all of your other appointments.
They will do an ultrasound to verify that it’s a viable pregnancy.
With your ultrasound there are two types that they can do. One is called a transvaginal ultrasound and the other is an abdominal ultrasound.
Before my first appointment I never heard of a transvaginal ultrasound. When I did the research I was scared to death because people made it sound horrifying!
They made it sound super painful and I was not looking forward to pain already on my first appointment.
It was not painful at all! You will change into a gown, lay on your back, and have your feet in stirrups like a pelvic exam.
The transducer is about 6-8 inches long and about as thick as a penis, that’s the closest thing I could think of!
They will lubricate it so the insertion doesn’t hurt. Then they just move it side to side pushing on your vaginal walls to find the uterus, ovaries, baby, and yolk sack.
They will do lots of measurements and determine what week the baby is in based off of the measurement size.
They also determine your due date from this ultrasound.
You will get some pictures of your cute little bean when they are all done!
All of your other ultrasounds will be abdominal which is the one people are most familiar with.
They put the jelly on your tummy and move the wand around to look at the baby.
During this appointment they will want a copy of your driver’s license and medical insurance.
They will ask you what medications, supplements, and vitamins you are taking.
If any are harmful to your baby they will either have you wean off of them or stop taking them completely. It all depends on what you are taking.
They will ask for your families medical history as well.
They also take your starting weight, blood pressure, and they will do a pap smear if you haven’t had one in a while.
Extra tip: write down questions that you have so you can remember them when you are at your appointment. I always forget questions that I have when I go to my appointments, so learn from me and write them down!
Call Your Insurance
You will want to ask your insurance provider what they cover with your Prenatal appointments and Labor and delivery.
Baby Center has a great article on what you should ask your insurance provider!
Stop Smoking
If you already smoke wean yourself off or quit cold turkey.
You can talk to your doctor about tips to help you stop smoking.
Everything you take into your body can affect your baby. If you continue to smoke you could be putting harmful chemicals into your babies body.
There are many programs out there that can help you to quit smoking as well.
Stop Drinking Alcohol
Alcohol can be harmful to your growing baby so it’s best to quit right away.
If you are used to partying with friends or having outings where alcohol is involved there are a few tricks to keep your pregnancy a secret and not drink alcohol.
Pretend to take sips and either have your partner drink it or take your drink to the bathroom and dump it
Arrive early and order a virgin drink before everyone gets there.
Order your drink alone and get a virgin one.
Or you could tell your friends that you are doing a cleanse.
Keep Away from Harmful Chemicals
This is the time to get out of cleaning! While you are pregnant you should steer clear of harmful chemicals like cleaning products.
You could switch to all natural products that are safe for you and the baby if you enjoy cleaning.
Download Apps
I downloaded a ton of pregnancy apps when I first got pregnant. I ended up deleted all of them besides Baby Center and Ovia Pregnancy.
Those two were my favorite, they are very user friendly and so adorable!
Baby Center has a birth board where you can ask questions or read what other people are asking.
Ovia has a cute feature where it shows how big your babies hands and feet are if they are on your screen. It is so fun to see the growth and they start out so tiny! I love it!
Read Books
There is so much information out there about pregnancy care, natural birth, c-section, epidural, what to do with your baby after he or she is born, and many more things!
Pinterest is great to find information because there are a lot of people who have been there and done that. It’s cool to read their experiences and opinions.
Announcement
Decide when and how you want to announce your pregnancy.
My husband and I waited till we were in our second trimester because we had two miscarriages before we went full term with our baby boy.
This decision is totally up to you and when you feel most comfortable with telling others.
We waited till Halloween when we visited my husband’s family! We love watching Hocus Pocus as a family so we got a shirt to announce it!
You do what would be fun for y’all and just enjoy announcing your pregnancy!
Change Your Diet
There are certain things you shouldn’t eat while you are pregnant because it can be harmful for your baby.
Did you know you shouldn’t eat soft cheese, unpasteurized dairy, or even sushi?
I’m big on knowing why so I had to know the reasoning behind me not being able to eat things that I love!
Drink More Water
Your blood volume increases up to 50% so you need more fluids to replenish your body! Your uterus is also filling up with amniotic fluid.
Basically you need a lot of water when you are pregnant!
You should be drinking about 10-8oz glasses of water.
If you don’t stay hydrated you could get headaches and feel lightheaded easier, so chug it down!
I personally like to drink most of my water during the day so then I don’t have to pee a thousand times at night.
Take It Easy
Slow down! It’s so easy to keep trying to go as fast as you did before you were pregnant, but this is the time to slow down.
Your first trimester you will be plagued with nausea, vomiting, light-headedness, and possibly fainting.
So make sure you slow down, take it easy, and rest more.
If you can take more naps to conquer the fatigue you will feel.
Create a Baby Registry.
This was a lifesaver for us! We created an Amazon, Target, and Walmart baby registry.
We only shared the Amazon baby registry with family and friends. The Walmart and Target registry was just for the free welcome bags.
Put everything you think you will need because it will surprise you what people will get for you. We literally had to buy nothing for our little boy because everyone bought us the things that we needed.
Of you are worried about trying to make room financially for a baby read my post on this subject! There are a lot of great tips to help you prepare for your baby financially!
Take a Before Picture
Take a picture of you before you got pregnant. As you grow you will forget what you looked like before that cute bump.
It can also be a motivation picture to help you get back into shape after your pregnancy.
You can also take weekly pictures of your growing bump or every couple weeks.
I didn’t start taking pictures till about 16 weeks because I still wasn’t having a bump yet, but I wanted to take bump photos!
I finally had a tiny bump at 20 weeks, but people didn’t notice I was pregnant till about week 30.
I’m glad I still took pictures every couple weeks starting at week 16 because it’s fun to see the growth!
If you have any other ideas that are great to start doing let everyone know in the comments below!
